Freeway and stop sign

for large ensemble and electronics

"Freeway and stop sign" is part of a larger scale project that focuses on the perception of sounds in any environment as germinal musical ideas, as well as the translation of such sounds into musical material for acoustic and electronic instruments. In this piece, the main elements at play are: 1. the rhythms, envelopes and density of the passing vehicles in a freeway; 2. the harmony derived from a receding group of motorcycles; 3. the melodic contour that results from accelerating and decelerating the motor of a vehicle; and 4. the harmonic spectrum of a stop sign. All these materials were previously recorded and my intentions were to use their aural content literally –not metaphorically- as a departing point for motivic and orchestrational development. This piece incorporates conducted improvisation strategies practiced with the Mills College Music Improvisation Ensemble and UC Berkeley's Jazz and Improvised Music ensemble. I thank Edward Stumpp for providing some of the recordings used in the piece.

Performers: Mills College Music Improvisation Ensemble and UC Berkeley's Jazz and Improvisation ensemble, directed by Fred Frith and Myra Melford, respectively.